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50 INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY

€30 MILLION INVESTMENT ATHANS KOLB WELLPAPPE

A NEW PLANT LAYOUT, NEW EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES — INCLUDING TWO GÖPFERT OVATIONPRINTING MACHINES — PREPARES BUXHEIM PLANT FOR CONTINUING GROWTH.

H ans KOLB Wellpappe GmbH& Co. KG (KOLB) wasfounded in Memmingen,

Germany in 1933. The companyhas evolved considerably over thedecades, including starting up a

paper mill in the 1950s, setting upa second plant in Buxheim in thelate 1960s, building a new factoryat its headquarters in Memmingenin 1979 and then acquiring acompetitor in Haiterbach in theearly 1980s. The companycelebrated its 75th anniversary in2008 and recorded its best annualperformance in the same year.

Earlier this year, the companyexpanded its activities into highquality litho print when it acquiredGebr. KNAUER GmbH + Co. KG.The addition of this business intothe KOLB Print+ division clearlyillustrated the company’sphilosophy of high qualitydecorative packaging.

This family owned business,currently being run by the thirdgeneration, employs over 1,100

A REPORT BY DANIEL BRUNTON.

L to R: Ralf Schiffman (Göpfert), Andreas von Liel and Thomas Wund.

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people and generates annual salesin the region of €200 million. As apackaging system supplier thecompany makes a wide range ofcorrugated packaging applications,servicing many different industries.Marketed via different channels, thecompany offers its services by wayof several divisions:KOLB Print+ — with pre-print,post print, litho and digitalcapabilities;KOLB Packaging — fromcorrugated sheets, to boxes,folding cartons, partitions and edgeprotectors;KOLB Coated Products — anti-static electronic packaging,storage boxes, hygiene boxes,presentation packaging, protectivepackaging, folding boxes, rust-resistant packaging and more;KOLB Specials — creativepackaging solutions using wave-flute and regular single facecorrugated;KOLB Display — all types of POSand display style packagingsolutions.

Integrated producerThe company’s paper mill producesover 65,000 tonnes of waste-basedcorrugated casemaking rawmaterials which it uses 100 percent internally. It runs in agrammage range of 90 to 170 gsm

on a 2.5m paper machine.Each of the box plants runs a

corrugator. At Memmingen andBuxheim, 2.5m machines havebeen installed by BHS Corrugated.The third site in Haiterbach runsthree corrugators, specificallyadapted for producing single facereels and sheets, prior to being runon a series of in-line and sheet tosheet laminators. An Isowacorrugator is in daily production foropen ‘wave-flute’ sheets and joins a2.5m machine from BHSCorrugated and a 2.5m line fromAgnati.

Memmingen has a corecompetence for producingstandard packaging solutions, whileBuxheim is the company’s ‘centreof excellence’ for pre and post

print; Haiterbach is focused on theproduction of high quality litholaminated work. “We areexperienced in all forms ofprinting,” explains Andreas von Liel,Technical Director. “With in-housepre-print technology, high qualitypost print, digital and litho offsetcapabilities, we make it our missionto offer our customers award-winning decorative packaging.”

Buxheim investmentIn 2010, a project team was puttogether to look at ways ofenhancing the Buxheim plant. Abudget of €30 million wasestablished and an ambitious planwas put in place to allow thecompany to expand capacity andcompetence at the site. “We were

Hans KOLB’s Buxheim facility.

Corrugating line fromBHS Corrugated.

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starting to see a significant growthin demand from our customers forhigh quality printed work aroundthat time,” explains Thomas Wund,Head of Communications.“Following some componentupgrades on the 2.5m corrugator,we set about re-designing andexpanding the layout of the site.Working with a group of trustedsuppliers, we drew up plans thatwould see a completely newmaterials handling system awayfrom the corrugator, through workin progress, onto converting andinto warehousing. Machinery wasmoved around and we opted toinstall two new Göpfert printingmachines too.”

High rack solution“We realised that with the newprinting machines and die-cutters,added to the capacity increase

following the expansion of thegluing department, meant weneeded more warehousing forfinished good,” explains Mr Wund.“We installed a new generationBahmüller Turbox speciality glueralongside the two existing Bobstgluers, which gave us a hugegrowth in the number of gluedcases we could produce. Thenature of the existing site meant themost effective way of growing thewarehouse was by going ‘up’instead of ‘outwards’.”

To improve throughput, Mindaundertook the design andinstallation of a new materialshandling system. Plastic chainconveyors and automatic transfercars smoothly transfer stacks ofboard between corrugator andconverting, and then move thefinished goods into a dedicatedpallet inserting system, where top

and bottom palletscan be placedaccurately forfinished goods. Thefinished stacks arethen strapped andwrapped prior tomoving to the newwarehouse.

KOLB had alsocommissioned

SITLog GmbH to devise an efficientlogistics solution with over 5,000storing positions for Euro andindustrial pallets (stack size up to1400 x 1700 x 2100 mm). The newhigh-rack warehouse is linkeddirectly to the existing productionfacility and to the central palletisingarea and automatically stagesfinished pallets at the six loadinggates, in the right route sequence,ready for loading onto lorries.

The new warehouse uses ViSIT,SITLog’s own visualisation and faultdiagnostics system based onWinCC, which has been tried andtested over many years. Thematerial flow computer managesnot only the automated high baywarehouse but also the manualwarehouse in which goods notsuitable for the high rackwarehouse can be made availablefor dispatch.

In-plant systemKOLB have been using Kiwiplan forits complete end-to-end plantsystem for over a decade. Themain software modules in use atthe three plants are: CorrugatorPrinting/Labeling (LBL BASE &OPER), Corrugator Dry EndConverting Link (XMT), Corrugator

Materials handling upgrade from Minda.The high rack storage systems

from SITLog GmbH.

A Bahmüller Turbox gluer was chosen to bolster gluing production.

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Scheduling Base Package (CSC),Factory Floor Feedback (FFF),Quality Management System (QMS),Machine Data Collection (MDC) andProduction Control System (PCS)."We are running all three plants onone data set, which guarantees acomplete planning processthroughout each of the sites,”explains Mr von Liel. “As wecontinue to develop a growingrange of corrugated products, itallows us to enter various nichemarkets. Utilising Kiwiplan, we caneasily accommodate the growth ofthe business, as our systems areable to grow according to the sizeof the operation.”

Each of the new printing andconverting machines linkseamlessly into the Kiwiplan plantsystems. Dashboards on eachmachine feeds performance datadirect into the Kiwiplan system,allowing planners to monitormachine loading on a timely basis.

Perfect print“As Buxheim is our centre ofexcellence for printed packagingsolutions, we wanted to install twodedicated printing machines, one ofwhich we would run in-line with anew Bobst Mastercut 2.1 flat beddie-cutter,” says Mr von Liel. KOLBopted for two Göpfert printingmachines, as it looked toconsiderably enhance its post-print

maximum accuracy in print registerand performance across all boardgrades.� Vacuum Lead Edge Feeder uses

belts instead of friction rolls inorder to eliminate marks on theliner when using coated papersand producing E-Flute;

� The sheet cleaner removes dustparticles prior to printing;

� Doctor chamber blade systemwith pneumatic blade clampingenables the operator to change ablade within minutes, withouttools;

� Anti print enlargement (APM) forincreasing or reducing printlength for individual stereos;

� Anilox roll and impressioncylinder gap setting in 1/100mm increments, for perfect kisstouch print;

� Auto-lock plate mounting withmanual or motorised angularplate adjustment;

� ICS Ink Conditioning System,providing automatic control of inkpH, viscosity and temperature;

� Full Sheet Inspection System with

AS BUXHEIM IS OUR CENTRE OF EXCELLENCEFOR PRINTED PACKAGING SOLUTIONS, WEWANTED TO INSTALL TWO DEDICATEDPRINTING MACHINES, ONE OF WHICH WEWOULD RUN IN-LINE WITH A NEW BOBSTMASTERCUT 2.1 FLAT BED DIE-CUTTER.”

capabilities further. The first openarchitecture, high board lineOvation — a four colour machine —was installed in 2012 and runs in-line with a Bobst Mastercut 2.1 flatbed die-cutter. Not even a yearlater, the second printing machinewas installed, this time configuredwith seven colours, but off-line.“The speed and performance of thisprinting machine means we caneffectively feed three or four of ourBobst flat bed die-cutters,” explainsMr von Liel. “To achieve the highestlevels of print and die-cut accuracy,we choose to print first and thenflat bed die-cut.”

All Göpfert high quality flexo postprint machines achieve printingaccuracy by using the proven RealDirect Drive and Vacuum BeltTransport technology. In addition tothe drive system and the transporttechnology, the following standardand optional features ensure

The Kiwiplandashboard pulls

machine data intothe production andscheduling system.

One of the Göpfert Ovationpresses is inline with a Bobst Mastercut.

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KOLB also opted to install IRdryers on the Göpfert printingmachines — JB Machinery® isestablished worldwide as a supplierof high efficiency infrared dryingsystems. Utilising the dryers makesit possible for KOLB to print andover-varnish on substrates ranging

from Kraft to the finest highhold-out clay-coated liners.

Partnership“This was the firsttime we haveworked withGöpfert and I mustsay that we havebeen impressedwith the way in

which theyapproached our project,” states Mr

von Liel. “We did not want asupplier to simply sell us a machinethat they thought would fit ourneeds. With Göpfert, we found thatthey listened to what we wanted,and then offered us a tailor-madesolution that would be fit forpurpose. We have been trying toclose the gap between litho andflexo for some time. Our objectiveis to be able to offer a standard ofprinted box where it is almostimpossible to tell the differencebetween pre-print, post print or litho— the Ovation is certainly living upto its excellent reputation and we

are happy with the results.”“Working with KOLB has been a

great experience,” states RalfSchiffman, Sales Director atGöpfert. “Their company philosophyis very much like ours — listen tothe customer and react to thoserequirements. Mr von Liel had anexcellent project team working withus and the results speak forthemselves.”

“Reflecting on the last year sinceinstallation, we are most satisfiedwith our decision to invest in theGöpfert printing machines,”concludes Mr von Liel. “Hans KOLBWellpappe is a leading producer ofdecorative packaging and theinvestment at our Buxheim facilityunderlines our commitment to ourpeople and our customers.” �

The control desk ofthe seven colourGöpfert Ovation.

The Göpfert Ovation printing machines have been fitted with IR dryers from JB Machinery.

A box run onthe Göpfert 7colour Ovation.

automatic ejection of sheets to berechecked ensures the bestprinting results.These Göpfert proprietarytechnologies are exclusive to theirmachines, giving customers suchas KOLB exactly what they need inorder to strengthen their position inthe high quality flexo print market.The award-winning Ovation isavailable at a working width of2.1m and 2.4m. The maximumproduction speed for an offlineinstallation is up to 14,000 feedsper hour. To achieve this target,Göpfert has re-designed their HighPerformance Top Vacuum Stacker.